Hurlingham Academy Student Wins Speak Out Challenge
Nicoleta Rotari aims to compete in Grand Final of public speaking competition
(L to R): 2nd place, Leora Olajuwon, Mayor Patricia Quigley, 1st place Nicoleta Rotari, 3rd place Lucy Gilbart-Smith
February 24, 2025
A Hurlingham Academy student is now just one step away from the Grand Final of the UK’s largest youth public speaking event due to take place in the West End in the summer.
Nicoleta Rotari, a Year 10 student, was crowned winner of the Regional Final of the Jack Petchey’s “Speak Out Challenge” which recently took place at Fulham Cross Academy.
Nicoleta was crowned Regional Champion, with a powerful speech titled ‘’Do You Feel Chained Down Right Now?’’ with the key message encouraging individuals to acknowledge and embrace their past without letting it define them, using it as a tool for personal growth and liberation.
She said afterwards, ‘A very exciting and eye-opening experience. It helped me understand myself and my powers."
She won an £100 gift certificate and now proceeds to the online semi-finals with just 37 other regional champions, before the final 15 are selected for the Grand Final, taking place at the prestigious Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden on 7 July.
She could be competing not only for the honour of becoming this year’s Jack Petchey's Speak Out Challenge Grand Champion but also for the chance to win £5,000 (a £2,000 bursary for himself and £3,000 for her school.
Over 30,000 Year 10 students (14-15 year olds) in over 500 state schools in London and Essex take part in the annual event, hosted by public speaking and communication charity, Speakers Trust and funded and supported by the Jack Petchey Foundation.
Previous winners of the Grand Final have gone on to….sell their businesses for 6 figures, act in Hollywood and in critically acclaimed projects, become influencers and public speakers. These include: Actors Jamie Flatters and Idris Sobande, entrepreneurs Tim Armoo and Mike Omoniyi, writer Poppy Noor, and more.
Their eloquence and passion caught the eyes and ears of the expert judges, including: Gareth Dixon, James Garthwaite, Fiona Wilkinson, Isla Owen Hughes, Nana Owusu and Shofa Miah
During the training, students are given the skills and the confidence to develop and deliver a competition speech on a topic that is important to them.
Runner-Up title went to Leora Olajuwon representing Sacred Heart High School, with a speech titled "Nigeria: Ethics not Aesthetics" and Third Place went to Lucy Gilbart-Smith representing Lady Margaret School, with a the key message of the speech expressing that strength is not defined by gender, and both men and women have the power to be strong, challenging stereotypes and promoting equality, especially in environments like the gym.
The speakers were congratulated by Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham, Patricia Quigley who said, "The speakers were absolutely brilliant and outstanding; they could give any politician a run for their money! These skills are absolutely essential and if you have got something to say, then let it out! Don’t keep it inside you and don’t give up on your ambitions’’
Jack Petchey’s Speak Out Challenge is the largest public speaking event of its kind in the world. Now in its 18th year, over 30,000 Year 10 students annually compete for over £12,000 worth of prizes.
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